The message and the spirit of Nowruz assumes greater importance and significance as the world grapples with innumerable conflicts, rise of xenophobia and the refugee crisis, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.

Addressing the annual Nowruz celebration here yesterday, Guterres said people across the world recognise that nothing in is more important than the spirit of Nowruz.

"When we see all the conflicts around the world. When we see the plight of migrants and refugees. When we see the rise of xenophobia and racism in so many parts of the world," Guterres said, adding that "it is clear that we all need the spirit of Nowruz."

"The world needs the spirit of Nowruz in order to be able to allow for peace and for justice and for understanding, and for the capacity to have mutual respect and the capacity to bring together the population of this world around the most noble values."

A special ceremony is held every year at the world body's headquarters to mark the International Day of Nowruz.

The International Day of Nowruz was proclaimed in 2010 by the General Assembly and India has been co-sponsoring the comme moration at the world body along with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Guterres said over the decades, Nowruz has united communities beyond borders and promoted peace and solidarity within families and between generations.

"The beginning of a new year brings with it a sense of fresh possibility. It gives us a chance to renew our commitment to peace, sustainable development and human rights. It is an opportunity to renew our pledge to human dignity and our promise to leave no one behind," he said.

Addressing the event, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tanmaya Lal said Nowruz and other such festivals remind people of the importance of pursuing sustainable lifestyles and helps bring out universal values such as mutual understanding and compassion that are at the core of different faiths of the world.

He emphasised the "inspirational" contribution of the Parsi community in building modern India.

The story of the community "is also one of hope in the present troubled times as the world struggles to manage conflicts, large number of people on the move to seek refuge, and narrow nationalist tendencies that appear to be on the rise," Lal said.

Nowruz, which marks the first day of spring and the renewal of nature, is celebrated by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.